Penn and Teller Take Down PETA
I would normally post a video as effective as this one is at deconstructing PETA directly from YouTube onto Secondhand Smoke. But the title contains an epithet, and I couldn't sanitize it here on the site no matter how hard I tried. Penn also has several foul mouthed moments, of which I disapprove both as crude and unnecessary in public advocacy. So, I decided to just link it.
In the video (which I think came from a Showtime special), Penn and Teller--clad head to toe in leather--demonstrate vividly that PETA in general, and its alpha wolf, Ingrid Newkirk in particular, are more anti-human than about being nice to animals. It's all there: PETA's high kill rate of "rescued" dogs and cats, puppies and kittens; its attempts to impede medical research, and the organization's financial support of animal rights terrorists.
Penn Jillette is a radical libertarian, and I am sure he would also have some choice words for the positions espoused here at Secondhand Smoke. But that's okay. He and his silent partner have done a service by presenting such a hard hitting video. If you don't mind a few unnecessary "F-words" tossed about, it is definitely worth seeing.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 4:47 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
They made some good points. The movement seems to be primarily based on massive confusion about what it is to be human. One hope in the ugly mess of this trend is perhaps that it will achieve some degree of freedom from a mechanistic, intrumental approach to creation, the cosmos and self but if so it seems it will come wrapped in garbage. (It s interesting to me that William Wilberforce, the main abolitionist of slavery in England, also helped found the Royal Institute for the Prevention of Cruslty to Animals. )
Except Jilette would be for the right to die based on his fervent libertarianism.
Wesley:
Jilette likes to debunk PETA, secondhand smoke (as in the actual stuff, not your website), magic and psychic ability, UFOs, the goodness of Ghandi and Mother Teresa, God and the Bible (all religions, really), the war on drugs, and protecting the environment.
I'm not sure where he'd stand on the right to die, just because it seems more like he's into debunking anything that's popular and/or in vogue. Since "right to die" is getting popular, maybe he'll be against that, too.
Sometimes it feels like he's against things just to be against them, but that's his right. I do agree with him on the PETA thing, though.
Well, regardless, about 20 years ago, I saw Penn and Teller before they got really big. They were hilarious, and sold P and T t-shirts and other items in the lobby after the show. I think I chatted with Penn. Teller stayed in character.
Teller always stays in character. They're both awesome. I've seen their acts, and they do rock.
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